On Friday an adults-only complimentary reception and sale for the show will be held at Chadds Ford Elementary School in Chadds Ford, Pa., which will allow patrons to meet artists while enjoying live music and hors d'oeuvres from prominent area restaurants.

On Saturday the event will get underway for all ages to enjoy, showcasing 70-plus artists from throughout the region spanning a medley of styles, of which this year's featured artist is painter Stephen Brehm, of Landenberg, Pa.

Formula for perfect art

A retired architect of five years, Deshpande constructs abstract acrylic and watercolor paintings that reflect his fascination for math and shapes; it's his newfound hobby. Though abstract, most of his paintings feature clean and precise lines that are based on the golden ratio: an ancient math formula created by the Greeks designed to make any image look aesthetically pleasing, he said.

In brief, the golden ratio deals with proportion and basically states when Side A of a shape is longer than Side B, and both shapes are adjacent to each other, "it's proven when you design something with these proportions: it's guaranteed to look good," said Deshpande, 67, who's a newcomer to the Chadds Ford Art Sale & Show.

But the rabbit hole deepens. Along with using the golden ratio, most of Deshpande's work is also designed with single paintings comprised of patterns of shapes within shapes. A glowing example of this is in his painting "Swirl." At first the image might resemble a blue-faced elephant with a curled trunk. But if you look closer, you'll discover the painting is a box made up of camouflaged rectangles and squares.

For instance, if you delete the red shape on the right, you'll realize Deshpande hid a square there. Furthermore, if you remove the blue shape on the left, you'll see a square shape. Erase any shape in the painting and the result will reveal either a square or rectangle. It's a pretty flawless concept.

"I'm basing it all on the mathematical formula so that it will look good," Deshpande echoed with a laugh.

Page 2 of 2 - How long does perfection take?

Deshpande would rather answer how long it takes him to dream up a piece since "you think about something a lot more than you spend time doing it," he said.

In that case, he said it usually takes about a week to plan out the dimensions of each painting. From there, he'll put his hand to the plow and knock out a piece in a day, usually. And since painting is a stress reliever for the math-loving Deshpande, inspiration is a vital part of his equation when creating art. If he's not in the mood to paint, he won't force it.

"You have to get charged up and inspired. You don't want it to be a job," he said. "I don't to treat it like a job; I had one before. This is a hobby."